


After the Fall

by Eclect



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Drinking, F/M, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Mid-Timeskip, Smoking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:48:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26365195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eclect/pseuds/Eclect
Summary: Takeda regrets a purchase and learns something new. Ukai predicts the weather and breaks an arm. Together, they find out that a lot can happen in a year.
Relationships: Takeda Ittetsu/Ukai Keishin
Comments: 6
Kudos: 70





	1. Winter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended listening: [Figure 8](https://open.spotify.com/track/5HTap7v6OqB7jPT5J2Z4um?si=_iQLNWKSSBGHNceru6Eu4g) by Peach Pit

Takeda could feel his toes falling off. Yep, he had frostbite because he hadn’t opted for the waterproof boots. They had been another 10,000 yen on top of the extravagant sum he’d had to pay for his hiking boots in the fall, but the cost of new toes was surely going to outstrip that. He blamed himself for not anticipating this particular activity, a winter hike into the mountains, or asking Ukai-kun about the possibility when he'd been shopping around for gear last season. He didn't blame Ukai-kun. Nope. Not one bit.

The boots he'd chosen had broken in great during fall, when the most prevalent obstacle had been crunchy leaves just waiting to be stepped on. They were comfortable and had just enough ankle support to keep Takeda's feet from twisting under him when he fell (which wasn't… a rare occurrence). Ukai-kun's recommendation had been great. Perfect.

For every situation except for this one. Takeda shivered as the breeze cut through his scarf, but the rest of his body was nice and warm under his coat. At least he'd invested in a good coat when he moved out north of Sendai. A good coat was good anywhere; the city, a rural town, even the top of a mountain. 

But his feet were so cold. He'd even doubled up on wool socks, fearing for this exact situation when Ukai had shown up at his door bright and early on the first day of Winter Break. 

//

Takeda blearily answered the unceasing raprapping on his front door. Ukai's fist had fallen through the doorway as the door had unexpectedly swung open. Takeda was blinded in part by the bright morning sun reflecting off of the piles of snow heaped around his modest front garden, and in part by the grin of glee on Ukai's face.

"Sensei! The temperature at the peak fell below -15 last night, which means there's a really good chance I can show you the thing I was talking about!"

"Bwha?"

"You know! The lake we hiked to that one time! It'll have frozen over and we can go skating!"

Takeda rubbed the sleep from his eyes beneath his glasses. Normally he'd be up at this point and well into his second carafe of coffee, but he'd learned (the hard way) that rest was just as important as work and always let himself sleep in the first day of the midterm breaks.

"Aw c'mon Sensei, you promised we'd go!"

"I recall making no such promise." Takeda didn't mean to snap but he'd spent the prior evening marking exams pretty much hot off the students' desks so he wouldn't have to tote them all the way to his parents' in Sendai and back. 

But Ukai wouldn't give up. "You have to leave this evening, right? This might be our only chance all break." Ukai's expression turned grave. "I wanted to hold onto this one but," he paused and took a deep breath, leveling his gaze at the teacher.

"You owe me one."

Takeda smacked his forehead with his palm. "Ukai-kun, are you seriously cashing in your favor, your coaching favor, to drag me up a mountain in the snow?"

"Yes I am, now get dressed. Those jammies are cute but not weather-appropriate." Takeda laughed at the flush that crept up Ukai's neck and ears.

"Alright, alright. No need to butter me up any more. Give me ten- no, fifteen. I need coffee first.

"And you might as well come in. -15, huh?" 

Ukai bounded across the stoop like an elementary schooler. "Yeah! The weather report said the summit only got a few centimeters so the hike shouldn't be that bad…."

Takeda turned toward his coffee pot and started a brew as Ukai chattered on about cold fronts and something or other. It was… cute. This was a side Ukai didn't show to many people. Unrestrained and earnest excitement. Even with the neighborhood association he was always cool-guy Keishin, fiercely proud of his skills as a setter and unflappable - until the boys started pressing his buttons, then he played the straight man to Takinoue's noodling (ironic, considering). 

The closest he could remember was the glee and pride that swallowed them both when the boys team had pulled off that particularly spectacular victory over Shiratorizawa to cinch the Miyagi Prefecture rep spot. Ukai had swung him around in a bone-crushing hug. Takeda blushed. He'd blushed then too, for many reasons.

The coffee finished brewing and Takeda finished it off with a splash of milk. Ukai had switched on Takeda's TV and was intently watching the weather forecast. 

Takeda sipped his coffee and let himself fantasize just a little, as a treat. That this was just a normal morning as he performed his daily ritual of making coffee, and Ukai had woken up with him to send him off to school. That Ukai loved to check the weather report so he could hand Takeda an umbrella, or wrap his scarf snugly around his neck if it was going to snow later. And that Ukai would give Takeda a quick kiss and push their foreheads together in farewell, and they wouldn't have to say "see you later" because it was a given.

Takeda bit back a smile and turned toward his bedroom to get changed.

//

His feet had been so warm then. And not at risk of falling off. Yep, the whole foot was a goner now, not just the toes. Both of them.

They continued their trudge, Ukai a good ten meters ahead with two pairs of hockey-style skates slung around his shoulders, rentals from a shop in town.

Just when Takeda was about to fold and voice his complaints about his soon-to-be disability, they crested a hill and the words were stolen right out of the teachers mouth. 

Below them stretched a shimmering mirror of sky and lake as one. The trees ringing it were laid heavy with snow and it didn't appear like a single living thing had set foot in this world. Like it was a pocket of space created just for them.

"Oh Ukai," Takeda breathed, "this is magnificent."

"Told you! Now we gotta get on the ice before the sun starts melting it!"

Ukai practically skipped down the bank, plopping down on a convenient log to shuck off his (fuzzy, definitely insulated) boots and pull on one of the pairs of skates.

"Ukai-kun, I've told you this. I don't know how to skate." 

Ukai turned around and smiled ear to ear. "No problem! I'll teach you!" He held out the other pair of skates by the laces.

Takeda said a little prayer to whatever gods held dominion over this place for the sake of his ankles. And knees. He wasn't so young anymore. His 30s had really snuck up on him. But he sat down and pulled his frozen toes from his boots.

His wool socks steamed a little despite his feelings, so he hurriedly shoved them into the rented skates. He did them up as tight as he could, copying the way Ukai criss-crossed the laces and wound them around the stiff ankles of the boots, only having trouble tying them up due to his gloves. Finally he stood, and immediately wobbled.

"Woah!" They yelled together, and Ukai reached up and caught Takeda's wrist.

Ukai rose and held Takeda stable as they carefully made their way to the edge of the lake. Ukai picked up a rock from the shore and tossed it out onto the ice. It landed with a satisfying plink and skidded across the lake. Ukai carefully stepped a skate out onto the ice and breathed when it held his weight. 

Takeda balked and hung on to Ukai, stretching out his arms so he could remain on shore. Ukai placed his other skate down on the ice and smiled back at the teacher. 

Ukai turned and grasped both of Takeda's hands, beaming over his gater. "C'mon Sensei, I got you." His cheeks were pink from the cold but the look on his face couldn't be happier. Takeda's fear melted away, and he stepped a tentative skate down on the ice.

Ukai's hands were steady and strong and held him upright, even when he leaned forward onto the first skate and his body seemed to slide out from beneath him. 

"Woah woah, try to keep your weight evenly distributed for now, Sensei. I'll get us moving so you can get used to the feeling."

Takeda focused on staying vertical, leaning into Ukai's forearms and watching as the ice slid beneath them. Ukai was swaying side to side and- was he skating backwards? The very thought had Takeda wobbling again but as he promised, Ukai was there to catch him. 

"Heh," Ukai chuckled and the warm exhale kissed Takeda's face. "Look at you. You're a natural."

"I would not say that, exactly," Takeda huffed, staring down at his feet.

"No?" Then how'd we get all the way out here?"

Takeda looked up from his feet and found they'd reached the middle of the lake. If he'd thought the view from the shore was beautiful, what he could see now was breathtaking. The perfectly still lake froze such that looking around it seemed like the whole world was sky. 

"Can you stand?" Ukai asked quietly.

"I think so." At that, Ukai unlatched his fingers from Takeda's wrists, leaving them cold and lonely. He turned around and took off at a sprint, hockey skates digging into the ice and sending up showers of sparkling crystals. Ukai zoomed around Takeda in a big circle, whooping and hollering so loudly a flock of birds took flight from a tree on the far shore. 

Takeda couldn't help but smile at his unrestrained happiness. He noted every detail of this moment and etched it on his heart. Even if his childish crush would never pan out, at least he had this memory. 

Takeda heard the scratch of skates come up behind him and jerked when Ukai's arms slid to wrap around his waist. The blond's chin rested comfortably on Takeda's shoulder and Takeda felt his whole body flush.

"Ahh, that was so much fun." Ukai sighed directly into Takeda's ear. "Alright, you want to give it a try?" Takeda just nodded, not trusting his voice.

Ukai lifted his head but his arms remained firmly supporting Takeda's trunk. "Okay, push your left foot backward and shift your weight over your right. I've got you. I won't let you fall."

Takeda's breath shook from the way those words pierced his heart, but took a deep breath and leaned forward. And it worked! He didn't fall over, instead feeling the ice push back, then give way as the blade of his skate cut through the resistance. He tried with the other leg and then he was the one flying over the ice while also flying through the sky. 

It was magical. 

And Ukai was there with him. Chuckling low in his throat at Takeda's joy. The taller man loosened his hold and spun around to skate backwards in front of the now moving Takeda. Ukai reached out and took his hands again and practically danced backwards while Takeda wobbled like a new fawn. 

Even though Takeda knew the fall was inevitable, it hit him like a freight train. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hullo again ( ´ ∀ ` )ﾉ  
> to repent for the sins i've committed please have this wholesome ukatake fluff series  
> i'll be posting insp songs with each chapter, please give them a listen orz  
> twitter/tumblr @s in bio, come hang


	2. Spring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended listening: I’ll be the rain by Lontalius

Sounds of revelry between families and friends echoed through the park but a hush blanketed the group of young adults gathered under a particularly lush cherry blossom tree deep in the heart of the hanami celebration. It was a silence of contentment, signifying understanding and deep gratitude shared between the friends there. 

Takinoue broke the silence, "God, I love all of you guys so mu-u-u-uch!" He yelled, spraying snot all over a startled Ukai. 

"Hey buddy, I think you've had enough," Good ole Shimada gently snagged the can of beer from his friend's hand and rubbed circles on his back, "how about you drink some water, huh?"

"Nooooo," Taki whined but the water cup was already in his hand, complete with straw that Shimada deftly shoved into his puckered lips. 

Fujimura-sensei on his other side roughly wiped his nose with a napkin and scolded, "Yuusuke, hush."

"It truly takes a village," sighed Serada-sensei, taking a sip from her own can and passing a fresh one to her coworker.

"Thanks, girl. You read my mind." Fujimura giggled and cracked it open and took a long guzzle, letting out an exaggerated pant of satisfaction. 

Their moment of contentment past, the world decided to send in chaotic reinforcements. A mob of kids chasing a kite ran right across their patchwork of blankets, tracking mud and grass with them. One kid even faceplanted over Takinoue's outstretched legs, but instead of bursting into tears as expected, he just picked himself up and took off yelling after his friends.

Ukai felt his mouth drop open and he stared around at his friends and one by one (starting with Takeda, of all people) they started cracking up. "Heh," he felt himself chuckle reflexively. The others slowly calmed down around him after getting in their own belly laughs. Ukai sipped his beer and wondered if he was nursing it too much. Not that it mattered. He was surrounded by his friends and there was no place or state he'd rather be in. 

"Ah, this is the life," sighed Fujimura, "wish we could do this every year. But the world spins on huh? Next year one of us could be dead, or worse," she whipped her head around to glare teasingly at Serada, "pregnart." 

Shimada only snorted but Takinoue was rolling around on the blanket howling with laughter.

Ukai chuckled for real at that one, but noticed Takeda's head swivel in confusion automatically towards him. He leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "it's from an internet video. I'll show you another time." Takeda's face was way too serious and he just nodded, making Ukai giggle again. Oof, maybe he  _ had _ had enough to drink, as he felt the giggles bubble through his head and make his ears go hot. 

"Hey, lovebirds!" Fujimura whipped her head back around to stare down where Ukai and Takeda were leaning in to talk, "I don't want to see any gaybys here next year either!" 

Ukai saw Takeda's whole face go tomato red and they both quickly leaned back. Takeda was shaking his hands towards Fujimura and Ukai distracted himself by pulling out a cigarette and his lighter. 

"Yuuko, stop teasing! Poor Take-chan is too good for Kei anyways. And Makoto and I aren't planning to have kids for a little while," Serada lifted up her left hand and sighed when the engagement ring sparkled in the late afternoon sunlight. "We want to enjoy married life first." She turned to Shimada and they had the gall to rub their noses together. 

"Yeah right," Takinoue slurred, "soon as y'all consum- consummate that marriage he's gonna be asking to raw-dog it every night!" Serada pegged an empty beer can and hit him squarely between the eyes with a hollow ‘thwang’. Yuusuke toppled backwards to the blanket.

They all burst into laughter again and Ukai mused he couldn't remember the last time he laughed this much. He was still a bit peeved at Fujimura’s penchant for making it seem like he and Sensei were something...more than friends. Just because Shimada and Serada had gotten engaged and Fujimura and Takinoue argued like only childhood friends could, leaving Ukai and Takeda paired off by default in their drinking group didn’t mean she should embarrass the other man like that. Ukai obviously wasn’t good enough for Sensei, no question.

… Plus, there was too much at risk to even consider asking if the teacher could possibly be into a guy like Ukai. The team for one. Their friendship, for second, this group dynamic…

He took a big drag on the cigarette and felt the rush of nicotine relieve the tension in his neck muscles. He blew a big exhale up into the sky, where the grey of the smoke mixed with the pink of the flower petals, the blue of the sky and the… grey of storm clouds?

"Uh, guys? I think we might have to cut the party short." Ukai intoned and pointed with his cigarette at the front rolling in. "That smells like rain."

"Nooooo, Maki-chan on the weather said it's supposed to be sunny all day!" Takinoue's voice rose an octave, "the perfect day for flower viewing!"

"What're you a meteorologist now, huh Kei-chan?" Fujimura ribbed, "But I guess it's all fake science so even Kei could be one!" 

"Ukai-kun has a particular knack for predicting the weather!" Takeda jumped to his defense before Ukai even took the insult to heart. 

"Aha, Take-chan, you really believe in this chump?"

"I do." Takeda's eyes were steely as they stared down his co-worker. "I've seen it with my own eyes. And I trust him." But a hint of red in his cheeks betrayed how (maybe) drunk he was. Probably.

Ukai swallowed and turned back to his cigarette, attempting to suck it back and finish it before the heavens could open up. He definitely didn’t deserve that kind of respect from Takeda.

Ukai didn't catch it but Fujimura's gaze softened toward the other teacher and she quirked a small smile. Then the cheeky grin was back and she was back to yelling, "well if this part-timer wants to cut us off then I for one!" She stood up, wobbled, caught her balance, "Am going home!" 

She turned and unsteadily gathered her cooler, shook out and draped her blanket over it and tramped off in… a direction.

Serada smiled at the rest of them and moved to gather their things, pulling Shimada up along with her. "We'd better make sure she gets home safe. This has been super fun you guys. I can't wait for next year." The fiancees trailed behind Fujimura, fingers interlaced.

"God, I'm in love with her," Takinoue sighed.

"Bwha? Serada?" Ukai exclaimed. Luckily she didn't hear him, or at least didn't turn around.

"No," Takinoue sank to one elbow on his blanket. "Yuuko. I love a woman who can kick my ass." 

Ukai sipped his beer, "Didn't she actually do that in third year?"

"Yeah…" he sighed dreamily.

He heard Takeda hold back a snicker and glanced over at the man with a grin.

"You got your work cut out for you man."

"Like I don't know that, bro. Hey Take-chan, you're persuasive right? Got any tips what how I can finally ask out the girl I've been in love with for ten years?"

Ukai choked on his sip of beer and felt it run down the wrong pipe. This was all news to him. Not that he was the most perceptive guy, even he could admit that.

"Well I find that getting down on my knees and begging usually works as a last resort."

Ukai choked again, thumping his chest with a fist on an attempt to start the flow of oxygen.

"Ah, get on my knees you say?" Takinoue winked toward Takeda, "is that how you got Kei to coach the team?"

This time Ukai and Takeda choked in unison.

Takinoue howled again, flopping onto his back and it was that moment when it started to pour.

All three men scrambled to gather their things but were soaked to the bone within seconds. Takinoue, sounding suddenly much more sober, yelled, "I'm gonna try your tactic Take-chan! Stay safe you two!" He winked again, waved and ran off in the direction the others had gone.

"C'mon let's get back to the store. It's closest," Ukai couldn't make eye contact after his friends had said all that embarrassing shit. They tramped back through the quickly-muddying park and were carried by the crowds of other unlucky parkgoers through the streets until they ran, sopping, to the small overhang outside Sakanoshita store.

Ukai fumbled with his keys and opened the glass door, dropping his muddy blanket in a pile outside, and making a mental note to pull some plastic bags out for both of their things. For now he flipped on the fluorescents, pushed the curtain out of the doorway to the back and grabbed a handful of dust cloths, noting the lights off down the hallway connecting to his parents house and no one apparently in the laundry room.

He popped his head back into the store and waved a handful of rags toward Takeda, who grimaced as he squelched across the linoleum.

“I hope they made it back to their car in time.”

“Oh yeah, I'm sure of it. I just hope Fujimura didn’t strap Taki to the roof like last time. We had to scrape him off of the road which is not fun when you’re also drunk.”

Takeda laughed in response and took a handful of dustcloths, patting down his face, neck and cleaning his glasses. Ukai did the same, moving around the back on flipping on the light in the laundry room. “Do you want to dry your clothes here, Sensei?" He called, beckoning him through the curtain and heading toward the dim hallway.

"If that wouldn't be too much trouble!"

"Nah," Ukai called over his shoulder, "hold on, I have some clothes still over here that might fit you. Might be big though." He started to dig around in a box marked Keishin in the hallway closet, full of shirts and sweats from high school his mother hadn't gotten around to donating. Finally he pulled out a couple sets of clothes that didn't have too many holes or sweatstains and turned back around to find Takeda silhouetted in yellow light from the laundry room. Ukai had to bite back a yelp. How'd he moved so  _ silently _ ? Oof, he'd definitely had enough to drink if clumsy-ass Takeda was turning into Sadako.

But then Takeda smiled that goofy grin of his, all teeth, and the jolt that went up Ukai's spine was a different kind. He couldn't stop himself from smiling back and handed the teacher the cleaner set of clothes.

"God, Sensei, you can't just sneak up on me like that."

"Oh, I apologize! You've never invited me back here before. Is this your parents house?"

"Yeah, this is the old prison bloc. Go on, take the laundry room and throw your wet clothes in the dryer."

Takeda did what he was told with a little bow and shut the door behind him. Ukai staggered blindly through the dark house, not bothering to turn on the lights, until he found the restroom and changed his own clothes, balling up the wet jeans and shirt. Making his way back, he flipped on the lights in the living room with the kotatsu and barged into the laundry room without knocking. Immediately he flushed, realizing how close to catastrophe he'd been as Takeda finished tying the extra-loose sweatpants that perched on his hips. Ukai averted his eyes as Takeda pulled on his baggy sweatshirt. Ukai busied himself setting up the dryer. With a beep it whirred to life. 

"Uhh," he started.

"Thank you, Ukai-kun. You are a really considerate friend."

Takeda was beaming up at him and Ukai was powerless against it. "Er, of course. Sensei, would you like something to drink? Barley tea?"

Because that was enough for Ukai. His life had turned upside down when the teacher had dragged him out of his rut. It was a bizzaro mirror world to his own high school days but the reflection helped sharpen his focus on, maybe, what the rest of his life might look like. It was all a lot to think about at not-even-thirty. Maybe Ukai  _ was _ drunk. 

But he had a great friend in Takeda, a rock he didn't deserve. And he'd take what he could get. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)  
> Keishin hed empy.  
> pls excuse my egregious use of OCs.  
> come hang on tumblr. @s in bio


	3. Summer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended listening: In a River by Rostam

"I can't believe they all bailed," Ukai grumbled around his cigarette. He glared at the road ahead of him and huffed indignantly toward the cracked driver-side window. He tapped the fingers of his good hand on the steering wheel and flexed his right hand against the cast enclosing it as it lay in his lap.

"It's okay Ukai-kun, just think of it as quality coach bonding time! We can take inspiration from the fresh surroundings of nature and breathe new life into the team playbook!"

"The kids are pretty good at doing that themselves. I swear every time we play a match is like they're an entirely different team."

"Ah, but the threads that weave each tapestry remain the same," Takeda lectured, sounding very much the literature teacher he was, "and perhaps there is an even more exquisite pattern we can identify by taking a step away from the loom."

"Okay, Sensei. I just wished our friends had told me beforehand the deposit for this place was non-refundable."

"Ukai-kun, look on the bright side."

"I'm gonna show Taki and Shimada the bright side of my ass next time they ask me to camp with them."

Takeda just laughed and returned to oo-ing and ah-ing at the view of the valley opening up below as the little yellow Nissan chugged its way up the grade.

Eventually they reached the site lodge, paid for the spot and a bundle of firewood and drove out to find a spot to set up camp.

They found a spot in the area marked off for car camping in the cool shade of trees that also reached out over a sizable but slow-flowing creek. Ukai started unloading the car but before he could do anything Takeda had hopped out and ordered him to go sit down.

"I'm not an invalid," he grumbled.

"No, but the doctors said no heavy lifting for four weeks while the bone heals." 

Ukai plopped down on a stump by the fire pit and used a stick to start sketching in the dirt. Of course he ended up drawing out volleyball plays. He didn't want to watch Takeda struggle to-

He looked up. Takeda hadn’t made a noise of strain yet. Instead what he found was Takeda hauling the giant cooler full of food out of the Nissan with a look of determination, a small 'hup', and the curl of biceps peeking out from under the sleeves of his T-shirt. 

"Lift with your legs," was all he could sputter out. 

Takeda hefted the cooler across the campsite and set it down near the fire pit, looking down at Ukai and wiping a rivulet of sweat from his forehead. 

"I'm not the one who needs to be reminded about form." His eyes flicked down to the cast on Ukai's right arm.

"Nevermind, I retract my offer to help."

"Fine by me," Takeda laughed as he went to pull the tent out of the car. "Please rest, your highness."

Uaki continued to grumble as Takeda picked many heavy things up and put them back down again, sneaking glances every few seconds and wondering if this was his own personal hell. The sun was getting high in the sky and Takeda's grey shirt started to grow dappled with sweat on his back.

Ukai went over to the cooler and fished around in it with his good hand. When he found what he wanted he walked over and offered the water bottle to a kneeling Takeda who was hammering stakes into the ground to secure the tent's footprint.

Ukai blushed and avoided looking him in the eye, and gruffly ordered, "Drink."

"Thanks Ukai-kun!" Takeda looked up, flushed.

"Gotta stay hydrated," Ukai ground the tow of his trainer into the soil. "Let me help with pitching the tent. I can at least do that."

Takeda sputtered on the water he was drinking but recovered and wiped his forehead on his forearm. "Sure, how about you lay out the support rods?"

"Kaayy," Ukai felt like a little kid but couldn't stand and twiddle his thumbs while Takeda looked so… worked up. Worked out. While he worked.

Instead Ukai turned his mind entirely to setting up the tent but it ended up being stupid and definitely not something you could do with one working hand. By the end of it Takeda and Ukai had managed to somehow get the tent erect and their belongings transferred inside. The sun blazed down but they found respite in the shade of the trees on the riverbank. They ended up sitting side by side on a big flat rock on the bank with their bare feet swishing in the cool, rushing water. 

Takeda flapped his sweat-soaked shirt and Ukai couldn't help himself. He reached down and flicked a spray of water toward the other man. Takeda reeled, and luckily he was sitting because Ukai'd bet his bottom dollar that it would have been catastrophic if he'd been standing. 

But Takeda just laughed, "Come on, that's not fair if I can't retaliate. Your cast can't get wet."

Then Ukai felt bad, but then he didn't feel bad at all. The teacher had reached up over his head and pulled his damp T-shirt off and started rinsing it in the stream. He swallowed thickly.

"Uh Sensei, have you been working out?"

Takeda gave him the most innocent smile he'd ever seen. "Yes! Mostly core and body weight exercises, I'm finding it is really helping with my coordination. The incident with Hinata-kun opened my eyes to how much I had been neglecting my own personal fitness."

Ukai's eyes were glued to the shadows on the teachers arms, more evident now his shirt was gone that taught muscle had replaced the limp noodles Ukai was used to seeing when they'd bumped into each other in the baths at training camps. 

And were those… abs?

Ukai used his hand to physically lift his jaw from where it was hanging, disguising it as itching his nose. Sensei was cut now. Okay. That was something he'd have to grapple with for a while. Probably mostly in dreams.

He quickly rose to his feet and retrieved his shoes from another rock.

"Uh, I'm going to uh…" and he ran away. Like a bitch.

Smooth, Keishin.

Cooling down at the river was out so instead Keishin stuck his head directly into the ice in the cooler. The chill snapped his vertebrae back into place and he stood up, thinking,  _ two can play at that game.  _ He reached up and peeled off his own shirt. Then he grabbed bread, fixings, and started building sandwiches. 

As cool as he wanted to seem about it, Ukai Keishin was having a real internal crisis. Here was Takeda-sensei, looking as cut as one of the male models from the catalogues he'd steal from his mother as a curious, and possibly questioning, kid. Cause the lady models were pretty too. 

He’d argued with himself about this before. That Takeda was a friend and a colleague and Keishin’s stupid feelings should not, repeat SHOULD NOT, get in the way of that. 

But… He’d always thought the teacher was cute. In like a hamstery, needs-to-be-protected-from the world as well as himself kind of way. Not that he was like that, he knew the teacher had a spine of iron and would wear down even the most reluctant target for the chance at a practice game for the team. 

Ahhhh, Ukai was not equipped for all this…. Thinking! He ran his hands through his hair, a little voice in his head reminding him what that pose did for his own physique, if anyone were to care. Gah, this… teacher! Making Ukai have to think, rationalize his feelings and make a plan for something other than volleyball, or next week's dinner. Ukai pulled at his hair it was so frustrating.

But the most frustrating this was the fact he wanted that stupid teacher to wrap his stupid muscly arms around him and pick him up and throw him into bed. What those abs would feel like pressed against his back-

No Ukai, he scolded. Now is not the Time Nor Place. He went back to slapping deli meat onto slices of bread.

But when would be? A little voice asked. Out in the middle of nowhere was about as good as you could get.

"Gah, I don't know!" 

"Don't know what, Ukai-kun?"

"Bwah?" Ukai whirled around to face the other man, knife still in his hand.

"Sensei?" He swallowed dryly and tried to force the lewd thoughts from his brain, helped only by Takeda having redressed in his river-wet shirt. That clung to him like it basically wasn't there. "Ugh," he groaned and leaned over to put his hands on his knees and fell back so his butt perched on the camp table.

Takeda jumped across the campsite and started waving his hands in the air around Ukai but not touching him. "Oh God Ukai-kun are you okay? The air up here is so thin, I know I shouldn't have asked you to help so much after your injury, I thought a trip would be relaxing for you and would take your mind off of it, and-"

"Are you trying to seduce me?!" Ukai roared.

Takeda met his gaze, startled. "I'm sorry!"

Ukai threw down the knife to the table. He picked Takeda up by the (wet) collar and started shaking him so hard his glasses went askew.

"Well it worked!" And he slammed his mouth into Takeda's. 

Ukai realized what he'd done and froze. Takeda's lips were still against his. He panicked, and pushed the other man away. 

Takeda's face was unreadable to Ukai. He looked almost… angry? Okay, Ukai reflected, out of the middle of nowhere maybe wasn't the best place to act impulsively. The ride home might be the most awkward hours of his life. Oh God what had he done? Ruined the one good thing he had going in his life? The team? Their friends? Yachi was rubbing off on him in a bad way, not that he was any good under pressure already.

"Uhh," the noise escaped him. He needed to apologize, like now. Ukai drew in a shaky breath to begin to say sorry when Takeda's angry glare broke eye contact with him and he flinched, expecting to get slugged right then and there. However he heard a slam come from below him on the ground and when he opened his eyes, Takeda was kneeling with his forehead smeared in the dirt. 

"Ukai Keishin, please do me the honor of going out with me!"

Ukai's ears flared red and he hurried to tug Takeda back to standing. Where he grabbed that wet shirt and pulled him back in for another kiss. 

They didn't stop kissing until the moon was high in the sky. Maybe out in the middle of nowhere was the best place to act impulsively, thought Ukai.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keishin is such an unreliable narrator. I love writing his POV. (ﾉ≧ڡ≦)  
> That said I basically have full chapters of opposite POVs for this fic. Should I post them?  
> lmk on tumblr


	4. Fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recommended listening: Maybe We're Meant To Be Alone by the Bad Suns

Takeda puffed into the air, smiling at the little cloud of water vapor that appeared and whisped up into the canopy of reds and golds. His face hurt a little bit in the cold of the air, but his toes were warm in his new boots, and his hands were warm. One clutched a hand-warming packet in the pocket of his coat.

The other clutched a hand-warming hand in the pocket of his boyfriend's. He smiled up at Ukai and relished the little one he got back over the chunky scarf Takeda had bought for him right before the cold snap. They turned back to the path they were hiking up into the mountains, pulling each other in a zig-zag across the pavement to step on every pile of crunchy leaves they could. 

Ukai pulled him onto a fork he almost missed, turning up a path toward the summit of the mountain. The path narrowed and went from paved to dirt and planks for stairs, and Ukai took the lead. Takeda pouted when he unlaced their fingers, but Ukai gave them a quick squeeze and him a smile.

They continued up the path, Takeda's breathing starting to deepen as his heart rate picked up. He silently thanked the team for dragging him along on their conditioning runs once Ukai had let slip he had started training too.

Otherwise there was no way he'd be able to keep up with Ukai like this as he practically flew up the trail. Finally they reached the summit marked by a single wooden bench just wide enough for the two of them. They settled down on it and looked out at the view.

There were taller mountains around them, sure, but this lookout was just high enough to see the city spread out below them in it's autumnal glory. A sea of red and orange and gold rolled through the valley, speckled by dark patches of evergreens. Off to the west, the afternoon sun sparkled off of the hidden lake.

"Can we go skating again this year?" Takeda asked.

"First chance we get, just try to stop me." Ukai grinned cheekily back.

"Oh I won't even try. I know how you get when you set your mind to something."

"That's my line, Sensei."

Takeda glared teasingly at the other man but turned back to the view and leaned their shoulders together. Below them he spotted the school, and the store, and the park. "Remember when Takinoue-san confessed to Fujimura-sensei and she made him arm wrestle her for the "privilege" of dating her?"

"Oh man, I wish we'd been there to actually see that."

"Yeah, especially when she beat him."

"He told me he owes you one for that."

"Oh no, he paid me back in spades. And I'm just glad I could help my colleague, and my friends, overcome the greatest obstacle to their love: their own bullheadedness."

Ukai chuckled at that. "You teach me something new every day, Sensei."

"Good. You're my greatest project. I'll turn you into a productive member of society yet."

"Hey! I contribute to society plenty, thank you very much. I mold young minds." Takeda laughed, relishing in the pouty way Ukai folded his arms and pointedly looked out toward the horizon, chin stuck out.

"After how much convincing?" He needled.

"Not enough, apparently."

"Just a little seduction was enough, though." 

"Hey!" Ukai looked so harassed it drew even more giggles out of Takeda. "Anyways, I was never going to win, I know that now, Sensei. You get whatever you set your mind to. I never stood a chance."

"You weren't particularly challenging. Especially after I had Takinoue-san confirm my suspicions."

Ukai had been slipping his arm around Takeda's shoulders but paused and looked down his nose at the other man. "About what?" Takeda felt that little gleeful spark he got yanking Ukai's chain.

"Oh, nothing," he smirked, and wove his arm around the frozen man's waist and gave a little squeeze. "Just that around a year ago your ero mag selections veered significantly away from 'buxom blonde'."

Ukai sighed and settled his arm on the back of the bench, heavy and warm in Takeda's shoulders. "Have I ever told you I'm glad you're on our team? But I'm worried you eventually won't need me anymore, O great Head Coach."

"I don't think I can wrangle the team by myself. Each new class seems to have more energy than the last. I thought it couldn't get any more extreme than Hinata-kun, but they keep proving me wrong. That said, I don't plan on getting rid of you any time soon."

"So generous, you old geezer. That's right, soon you'll be senile and I'll have to take care of you too."

"I'm not that much older than you, Ukai-kun!" Takeda pouted.

"I know, but I don't have my other ammo against you, Tetsu." Ukai's smile down at Takeda was so full of kindness and affection that Takeda felt more blood rush to his cheeks.Takeda had learned more about just volleyball from Ukai - he'd learned a thing or two about himself, too. His gratitude stuck in his throat, despite his usual pride in his communication ability. When it came to the younger Ukai, however, no words seemed to do him justice. 

So he just leaned up and placed a soft, chaste kiss on Ukai's lips and smiled at the grin he felt curl against his own. 

"I love you, Kei." He whispered, even thought there wasn't another person for kilometers. 

This was just for them. Ukai answered, "I love you too, Tetsu." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading ( ＾◡＾)っ ♡ and your wonderful comments  
> This finishes my first multi-chapter work since my time on FF.net  
> I love Ukatake very much and am proud to contribute content to this wonderful ship  
> please come talk to me on tumblr or twitter. @s in bio


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